By now, many people in construction are used to thinking about cutting CO2 emissions.
But the industry’s impact on nature – the planet’s and our life-support system – has been largely overlooked.
That is until this year when, in February, it became mandatory for developers in England to deliver a “biodiversity net gain”, or BNG, of 10% on sites that are half a hectare or more in size.
In this episode, we explore the practicalities and business implications of this new requirement to protect and enhance nature, asking, can construction really be nature’s friend?
On hand to guide us is our experienced panel:
• Stephanie Wray, consultant and former Chief Sustainability Officer for RSK Group;
• Julia Baker, Head of Nature Services at Mott MacDonald;
• Helen Nyul, Group Head of Biodiversity at Barratt Homes.
As an ecologist and beekeeper, I see content like this and immediately think greenwashing.
Take, the imagery of the pollen laden honey bee approaching the flower. Aside from humans, the honey bee is, by far, the most studied species on the planet, because of its usefulness to humans in pollination, honey, wax, pharmaceuticals etc.
When there is a finite amount of food around (i.e. flowering plants), the success of the honey bee means other pollinating species decline because of increased competition. With around 280 bee species in the UK alone, alongside 1000 UK pollinating beetle species, making up more than 1500 pollinating insect species, it’s fascinating that the honey bee tends to be first pick in imagery. It’s quite telling.
From the perspective of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, over-reliance on the image honey bee as a vehicle to convey understanding…it’s comparable to thinking Battersea cats and dogs home is a haven for wildlife.
The irony is that humans as a species are now even exploiting the image of honey bee to signal their virtuous intent of helping nature, when it achieves the opposite. It perpetuates ignorance and prevents deeper understanding of the value and necessity of species diversity, the threat of monoculture, the loss of genetic diversity etc.
Can I suggest expanding imagery to build understanding – perhaps a pic of the swollen thigh beetle or the smokey wainscot moth? (nocturnal moths are thought to be more efficient pollinators that daytime species…)